01 May 2007

With a view to strengthening agricultural market information systems (AMIS), the Executive Committee of the Market Information Organization of the Americas (MIOA) held its eighth meeting on 27 March, on this occasion at IICA Headquarters.

Immediately after the meeting (28-30 March), the First Workshop for Administrators of Market Information Systems took place. The activity was used to enhance the technical and managerial capabilities of the leaders of the AMIS in the organization’s member countries.

"The MIOA’s effort to strengthen the AMIS is beginning to bear fruit: the leaders of the countries are beginning to discuss ways of standardizing the procedures for gathering, analyzing and disseminating information on agricultural markets," said Frank Lam, the IICA Agribusiness Specialist who organized the two activities.

The workshop for administrators of AMIS, attended by participants from nearly every corner of Latin America, was divided into five thematic modules: Key Factors for Market Information Systems (MIS); Training, Data Gathering and Quality Control; Analysis of Data and Market Intelligence; Dissemination of Market Information and Relations with Users; and, MIS tools and how to improve them.

The Market Information Organization of the Americas is a growing cooperation network comprising state-run institutions and institutions linked to the government, whose main function is to compile, process and disseminate data related to markets and agricultural products.